St. Paul, MN Dog Bite and Attack Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog in the St. Paul area or anywhere in Minnesota, the owner and any additional responsible party should be held accountable. Your dog bite compensation may include emergency room and hospital bills and money for pain and suffering, lost wages, and other damages.

When someone suffers a dog attack in St. Paul, MN, the owner is liable under Minnesota law. In addition others may also be liable (responsible to compensate the person injured). For example, if a daycare allows an animal onto the premises, the owner of the animal and the daycare will be liable if it bites or otherwise attacks one or more of the children.

All liable parties (the owner and possible others) must compensate the person bitten for medical expenses, scarring and disfigurement, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other damages. As discussed above, in some circumstances, the person bitten by the animal may bring a claim for punitive damages.

St. Paul Dog Bite Law

Below are excerpts from Chapter 200 of the St. Paul Code of Ordinances:

Sec. 200.05 The license holder, owner, or keeper of any dog shall be responsible for the effective restraint of it and shall not permit it to run at large. There are exceptions.

Sec. 200.10 It shall be unlawful for an owner or custodian to fail to restrain an animal from inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily injury to any person or other animal. Violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor. This section shall not apply to an attack by a dog under the control of an on-duty law enforcement officer or to an attack upon an uninvited intruder who has entered the owner’s home with criminal intent.

Sec. 200.11 An animal that has been determined to be potentially dangerous must be microchipped and its owner may be required to comply with one or more of the following conditions:

complete an approved dog obedience class;

restrain the dog by chain or leash not to exceed six feet and/or to muzzle it;

show proof of an up to date rabies vaccination; and

purchase a lifetime license.

Sec. 200.121 Owners of legally dangerous dogs must do the following:

provide and maintain a proper enclosure;

post the front and the rear of the premises with clearly visible warning signs, including a warning symbol to inform children;

provide and show proof annually of public liability insurance paid in full in the minimum amount of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00);

if outside the proper enclosure, the animal must be muzzled and restrained by a substantial chain or leash (not to exceed three (3) feet in length) and under the physical restraint of a person eighteen years of age or older;

have a tag identifying it as dangerous affixed to the collar at all times;

provide and show proof of microchip identification;

register it with Ramsey County;

get a lifetime license and be up to date on rabies vaccination;

have it sterilized;

pay an annual registration fee.

Our law firm is listed in the The Best Law Firms in America. Call us for help now at 612-338-0202 if you or your child has been bitten in the face or on the arm, hand or leg.